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Difficulties of Getting Aid In Honduras
With the difficult terrain it is not easy to bring aid into the small villages in rural Honduras. Most supplies must be brought in by four-wheel drive truck over sometimes very treacherous dirt roads. Buses traveling between the large cities often get stuck, relying or hoping for locals with
large draft animals to pull them out. Nearly every four-wheel drive vehicle that makes the journey has shovels in the back or behind the seat. When non-profit groups need to bring in machines or building supplies it is often nearly impossible to get them into the villages and this makes building a slow process.
Often volunteers ride in the back holding down the equipment and or building materials, keeping their arms inside the truck or they get mudded. Still other times they must get out to prevent the vehicle from bogging down in the mud when it gets stuck. “It is a bumpy ride to say the least” stated one recent volunteer.
Become a Medical Assistant Specialist
You don’t have to go to medical school to become a medical assistant, but you do need training. In today’s world, the specialist make the most money and have longer more rewarding careers. If you are going to train anyway, why not train to become a specialist? This article will introduce you to one of those specialist careers, the phlebotomist.
A phlebotomist, often referred to as a “phlebotomist technician”, is a specially skilled medical assistant responsible for drawing and collecting blood from patients.
This was a job that normally was assigned to nurses. However, due to the time consuming nature of the task, hospitals and clinics are relying more on the specialist to carry out the duty of collecting blood and other bio samples from patients. This allows the patients to receive more timely and personalized care, while freeing doctors and nurses to tend to more patients.
My Odyssey to Go on a Medical Mission Trip
The summer of 2002, I met a young lady while square dancing at a festival in Missouri. For the next 4 months we talked on the phone and once a month I would drive to Colorado to visit her. In November of 2002, she told me that for the last two weeks of January and the beginning of February she would be on a medical mission trip to India. We talked about the trip and the fact that she had gone on two other mission trips, one of which was to India and that she was looking forward to going back to India. A couple of days later she asked, “Why don’t you go with us?” I laughed because I have no medical experience except 1st aid. We talked about the prospect of my going and finally she said she would ask if there was room for a non medical person on the trip. To my surprise she called back and told me I was welcome to go along with the group, as they could always use help with set-up/take down and crowd control. Then she stated I would have to do a few things first.
The beginning of my odyssey: A passport. Vaccines-shots (Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B) and pills (Malaria and Typhoid). Getting time off work. What to pack to take on the trip and financial arrangements.
I started my quest about the second week of November and was told I had until the 1st week of December to confirm whether I was able to go or not. Everyone I talked to informed me that it took 6 to 8 weeks for a passport to be issued. I went to the Post Office and completed the application for the passport. I received my passport in 3 weeks. I then went to the County health department to ask about what precautions, shots or pills, I would need for the trip to India. I was given information on all the shots and oral treatments I would need. Yes, some of that info was scary. I found out that the Hepatitis A & B shots could be given to me at the health department. The H-A was one shot and the H-B was two shots. For the prevention of Malaria and Typhoid, I would have to get a prescription from a doctor, then go to a pharmacy to fill the prescriptions. Mefloquine (ME-floe-kwin) pills were to be taken 1 week before the trip and 4 weeks after, to prevent malaria. There were 4 Typhoid (VIVOTIF TYPHOID CP VAC) pills, to be taken over 8 days: pill #1 then skip a day, #2 then skip a day, etc… These pills were to be kept in the refrigerator, taken with cold water and not to linger in the mouth very long. Why, I asked myself and then I asked the pharmacist. He told me the pills were a live culture and if I let the pill get hot, I could get Typhoid. This was the 1st time I obeyed the direction on medication to the T. Meanwhile, I was learning what the temperature in India (seasons) would be and what to pack. Winter and freezing temperatures here in Missouri and summer in India.
